Fitness Ball Exercise

Fitness
ball exercise is often used in sports injury rehab because of the low
cost of equipment, the variety of exercises, and the ability to improve
core stability while training different muscle groups. Read on to learn
more about how you can use a fitness ball for your exercise or rehab
program.

Choosing
a Fitness Ball

There are lots of different manufacturers of
fitness balls, or balance balls. I use Gymnic balls in my clinic with
my patients, but
they are just one of many. More important than the manufacturer is the
size.

When you choose your fitness ball, you
should make sure that you get the right size based on your height and
weight. Most people will need a 55cm or 65 cm ball. The measurement is
taken when the ball is fully inflated. The easiest way to determine
what size you need is to sit on a fully inflated ball. Your knees
should be at a 90 degree angle with your feet flat on the floor.

Benefits

The
biggest benefit of using a stability ball for exercise is that it
requires significant involvement of the core. Even if you are working
on exercises for the lower extremity or the arms, you have to maintain
good core stability in order to
perform the exercises. This is the key
to functional training - learning to stabilize the core while
performing with the extremities.

The other benefit
is that you are only limited by your own creativity when it comes to
the types of exercises you can do. Below are just a few examples of
fitness ball exercise.

Abdominal
Crunches

You can use a balance ball to perform abdominal
crunches. Pictured to the right is a lower rectus abdominus crunch
starting position.

See how the balance ball helps
to
stabilize the pelvis. It forces your lower abdominals to contract and
stabilize while you perform the crunch. It can also take some of the
stress off of your lower back. There are lots of abdominal crunch
variations using a balance ball.

Push Ups

You can use a
stability ball for push ups. Either placing your
hands on the ball and
doing push ups that way, or putting your feet on the ball to create a
decline lunge.

You can also do planks on a
stability ball, either with your hands or feet on the ball.

Bridging

Placing your feet on a
stability ball, and then lifting your hips or bridging up is a great
core strengthening exercise. Add movement of the hands overhead, or
alternating lifting your legs to challenge your abs even more.

In addition to bridging, you can add
in a hamstring curl to work your hamstrings and your core at the same
time. The possiblities for exercises are limitless.

Summary

Using
fitness ball exercise for sports injury rehab or a good workout program
is cost effective, and simple to do. You are only limited by your
imagination when it comes to the type of exercises you can do. And not
only will you be working on specific muscle groups, but you will be
improving your core stability as well.

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